Summer Program Instructor, Wilson Community School

Posted by on April 18, 2011

SUMMER PROGRAM INSTRUCTOR – Wilson Community School

Posted on: April 4, 2011
Posted by: Netter Center for Community Partnerships – University of Pennsylvania

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Wilson Community School –
Wilson Community School is a partnership between Alexander Wilson Elementary School of the School District of Philadelphia and the University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) program operated by the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. Wilson Community School (WCS) senior staff is responsible for developing and operating all out-of-school-time (OST) programming at Alexander Wilson Elementary, including the after-school program, structured recess program, and the summer program. WCS receives significant support from Public Health Management Corporation for its programming, and also works closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. In only its third year of existence, WCS has quickly developed into a dynamic community school that provides quality programs that address the academic and social needs and interests of our scholars and families, and which is intricately integrated into Wilson Elementary School and the surrounding community.

The success of Wilson Community School lies in its commitment to living up to its name – to create a space where children, youth, and adults can come together in the spirit of community to explore what can be achieved and what is possible through education, service, and a sense of common purpose – and thus to truly become an institution made of, for, and by the community it serves. The program’s director and coordinators serve as liaisons between the school-day, out-of-school-time programs, and the community, in a variety of ways – serving on the school’s Leadership Team and its subcommittees (Climate, Curriculum & Instruction, and Organizational Management); meeting with school-day faculty, administrators, and Penn partners to discuss the academic, social, and behavioral development of students; assisting in the development of school-wide initiatives, including the school-wide Positive Behavior Support Initiative; and engaging parents and family members via the Community Advisory Board (comprised of WCS staff and parents/family/community members), individual family conferences, regular family meetings, parent workshops, and special events. WCS staff is comprised of community members, University of Pennsylvania and University of the Sciences students, school-day faculty, and parents. WCS programming focuses not only on developing the academic and social skills of our scholars, but also on developing a sense of community and service amongst all who serve within or are served by WCS. Like its scholars, Wilson Community School is young and has much to offer. Like our scholars, our future is bright, with no limits on what we can achieve together.

Wilson Community Summer Program –
For six weeks during the summer, 120 children from the surrounding community attend the Wilson Community Summer Program from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Summer programming is developed and implemented with a focus on the following themes/subjects:

* Project-Based Learning: Scholars learn through research, collaboration, and experience, while lessons and activities focus on interactive, hands-on, and student-driven ways of learning.
* Academic Enrichment: Lessons and activities focus on developing knowledge and skills in literacy, numeracy, and other academic subjects.
* Cultural Immersion & Understanding: Each class represents a culture from various parts of the world and throughout history, with scholars learning about their culture’s traditions, arts, and ways of life.
* Community, Service, & Leadership: Scholars explore the meaning of community, as well as what it means to lead and to serve others.

Morning programming consists of enrichment activities based on the summer curriculum, with a focus on themes such as literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, & mathematics), cultural studies, civics & social justice, health & nutrition, environmental awareness, entrepreneurship, character education, and teambuilding. Afternoon programming is dedicated to extracurricular activities centered on themes such as the arts, communications & media, and physical education. Weekly field trips are both fun and educational, and weekly family meetings serve as a forum to inform families about current and upcoming events and logistics, share class and individual accomplishments, organize guest speakers and workshops, and to focus on community-building. Other program partners and highlights include: Summer Service Interns are high school aged youth who are recruited, trained, and mobilized to serve as classroom aides to summer teaching interns and mentors to program youth, with a focus on developing the interns’ leadership, mentoring, advocacy, and career skills.

POSITION OFFERED:

The Wilson Community School at Alexander Wilson Elementary School is looking to hire Summer Program Instructors for its summer program. The Wilson Community Summer Program runs Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, for 6 weeks during the summer (7/5/2011 – 8/12/2011). The program serves children in grades K through 6 (ages 5 through 12). The daily schedule consists of breakfast, morning class meetings, project-based learning & academic enrichment activities, lunch & recess, and afternoon extracurricular activities.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

We are looking for qualified people to fill the role of Summer Program Instructor (SPI). These instructors are teaching and service interns who serve as grade-level group leaders for academic, project-based learning, and extracurricular enrichment in the summer program. SPIs lead grade-level classrooms of 10-20 children, and their primary responsibility is to aid and guide the academic, social, and emotional growth of these scholars. Under the guidance of the Academic Coordinator, and using a variety of curricular resources (linked together by the summer curriculum developed by the Academic Coordinator), SPIs design and/or adapt project and lesson plans that both support school-year learning goals as well as explore subjects and themes that are absent in school-year learning. Lessons and activities must incorporate culturally responsive pedagogy, project-based learning (PBL) and student-centered learning strategies, and multicultural perspectives. The lessons, activities, and classroom environment should encourage and reward scholarship, creativity, teamwork, understanding, a sense of community, and respect for oneself and others.

In the morning, SPIs supervise their scholars for breakfast, facilitate a morning meeting with their class, and implement the summer curriculum developed by the Academic Coordinator. In the afternoon, SPIs plan and implement extracurricular activities based on their individual talents and interests, as well as the interests of our scholars. Programming on Monday through Thursday follows this general schedule, while Fridays are devoted to weekly field trips.

SPIs are not only responsible for the academic development of their scholars, but also their social and behavioral development. Every SPI must develop and implement systems and procedures for their class that establish expectations and address issues regarding classroom and behavior management, as well as to connect her/his classroom systems and procedures to program-wide systems and procedures. Instructors must record and communicate both positive and challenging behaviors via required forms such as: daily behavior logs (tracking each scholar’s behavior and participation via a system of positive [ex: stars] and negative [ex: checks] indicators), behavior reports (recording positive and negative behaviors, and strategies used by the SPI to address these behaviors), and disciplinary reports (recording challenging behaviors that have not improved over time and which have been documented in previous behavior reports).

SPIs are required to maintain consistent communication with the families of her/his scholars in order to promote partnerships between WCS, its staff, and the community it is serving, and to ensure that WCS staff and families are working together to aid each scholar in her/his development. SPIs must provide family members that pick up their child(ren) at the end the program day a daily update of each scholar’s performance and development. If an SPI has an issue with a scholar’s behavior and/or has to implement some form of disciplinary action, the scholar’s family must be contacted in person, via phone, or in writing as soon as possible.

Instructors are assisted in the classroom by high-school aged youth called Summer Service Interns (SSIs). The main role of SSIs is to assist SPIs in leading their class of scholars, and in the process develop their leadership, mentoring, advocacy, and career skills. When working with their scholars, SSIs will be called upon to co-teach with SPIs as well as to work with scholars in small groups and one-on-one. They will also work with their SPIs to develop, implement, and uphold class-specific systems and procedures that promote a positive learning environment and create a classroom culture based on respect, understanding, and a sense of community.

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES:

* Passion for working with and for youth, and a commitment to developing family and community relationships/partnerships
* Understanding of the importance of out-of-school-time programming for youth and families
* Experience teaching lessons and leading activities with elementary-aged youth
* Experience working collaboratively with and/or mentoring high-school aged youth
* Experience with lesson planning and project development
* Strong leadership, classroom management, behavior management, and organizational skills
* Ability to be creative, think on your feet, and make learning fun
* Ability and desire to work both independently and as a member of a team
* Ability to be culturally sensitive in one’s personal and professional approach to working with youth and families
* Eagerness to continually develop one’s skills as a teacher, leader, and role model for youth
* Understanding that working with youth often requires one to go above and beyond the call of duty
* Understanding that we are ALL scholars
* A commitment to the belief that every child can succeed

QUALIFICATIONS:

* Teaching experience, preferably with at-risk urban youth
* Demonstrated experience with an ethnically, socially, and culturally diverse population
* Demonstrated teaching philosophy and methods that encourage the development of active and independent learning habits
* Demonstrated ability to develop and implement curricula collaboratively
* Demonstrated ability to create and maintain a positive learning environment, manage student behavior, and mediate/resolve conflicts

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Wilson Community School is offering the Summer Program Instructor (SPI) position as a teaching and service internship, with a weekly intern stipend of $480 per week. SPIs work on-site Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm, with some paid off-site or out-of-program hours allotted for staff orientation & trainings, prep periods, staff meetings, lesson/project planning, and collaborative efforts. SPIs are strongly encouraged to utilize not only paid prep periods but also, when necessary, to allocate unpaid off-site/out-of-program time to develop the skills and materials necessary to being a successful SPI. Those SPIs that put in this extra work will be the most successful and will have the most rewarding experience.

Due to the limits of our out-of-school-time grant from PHMC, we are limited in the number of part-time workers we are able to hire for our summer program positions. Therefore, we place high value on candidates who are (1) college or university students who have federal work-study awards for the summer; or (2) volunteers. If you have applied for a summer work-study award (or are in the process of doing so), or if you are interested in volunteering, please indicate this in your cover letter.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Richard Liuzzi | Director | Wilson Community School | [email protected]
Kenya Shujaa | Associate Director | Academic Coordinator | Wilson Community School | [email protected]
Tony Piccione | Associate Director | Recess Coordinator | Wilson Community School | [email protected]

BY EMAIL:
If you are interested in the Summer Program Instructor position, please respond via email (titled “SPI Applicant – Your Name”) to WCS Senior Staff via the following email: [email protected]

APPLICATION MATERIALS:

Applicants must submit the following application materials (applications that do not include all requested materials will not be considered):

1. Cover letter
2. Resume
3. Professional references (at least 2)
4. Short Essay (or Video) – Write a short essay (or film your response) to one of the following two essay questions (250 word limit):

* In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges faced by at-risk, urban youth in their quest to get a comprehensive, quality education?
* What are your greatest weaknesses, how will they be challenged by being an SPI, and how will you strive towards making them strengths in your experience as an SPI?